Hot new Boise restaurant to open finally — amphitheater-style — and party like it’s 1977

It’s fair to say that Kin is hot — even without ever having opened.

Created by the team behind acclaimed, now-defunct restaurant State & Lemp, the Kin dining concept is over two years in the making. It’s a reinvention of the longtime Angell’s Bar & Grill space at 999 W. Main St. in downtown Boise. Kin’s kitchen? That’s led by chef and co-owner Kris Komori, a James Beard Award semifinalist from 2016-2018.

But the better description starting next weekend? Not hot. Cool.

Cool, because Kin will make its on-site debut serving outdoors only. And cool, because Kin will revive a vibrant part of Boise history: live entertainment in the amphitheater at 9th and Main streets.

Offering socially distanced dining, Kin will unveil its weekly PiKINic. The dinner-and-show series will premiere Saturday, June 20, and Sunday, June 21. Boise arts group LED will perform while up to 70 guests — 50 on the grassy hillside, 20 on the patio — enjoy meals served on three- to -five-tier tiffins.

Tickets cost $100. Guests will be contacted beforehand to personalize the experience, including dietary restrictions and drink choice. Future shows will range from about $75 to $125, depending on capacity and performer. Tickets are being sold at kinboise.com.

Meals include an adult beverage, but this series is still BYOB, explains co-owner Remi McManus.

Bring Your Own Blanket.

“It’s essentially a prix-fixe picnic,” McManus says. “We just feel like this is the safest and most inventive solution to what we’re faced with right now.“

In the late 1970s, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival called that amphitheater home. Kin’s owners want to return the site to its former glory, McManus says, making it an integral part of downtown culture.

In the shorter term, it’s a way for a restaurant that takes the coronavirus seriously to open its doors without actually letting anyone inside those doors.

“We’re excited about showing off the indoor space,” McManus says. “We’ve been working on it for so long. Unfortunately ... .”

The good news? Kin’s indoor bar should be open this summer, he says, serving small plates to parties spaced at least 6 feet apart. That will be followed by opening communal seating in the formal dining room, where Komori will unleash ambitious prix-fixe dinners — someday.

The Kin crew is determined to wait out the pandemic for the official grand opening — even if it takes until 2021, McManus says.

“We don’t want to have a grand opening for 20 people,” he explains. “We want to have a grand opening for a grand audience.”

PiKINic will run weekends into fall, McManus says, and probably include some weekdays. Eventually, a short, removable fence will enclose the amphitheater for performances. But McManus wants passersby to be able to hang outside and “poach” the entertainment, he says.

“Obviously, people see us in a different light because of our price point, and our high-end food and things like that,” he says. “But we do want to be more of a part of this community, and we want to invite people in. We want people to feel like we’re welcoming. We’re just part of the downtown fabric.”

Meanwhile, the restaurant’s kitchen will continue to offer its delivery service, Kin at Home. A $65 tasting-menu experience (including tip and delivery), it features a cocktail, wine, and cooking educational and instructional video.

Kin also is a cofounder of the recently launched, philanthropic City of Good program. There’s also Kin Kind, the restaurant’s charitable side.

Kin’s owners are determined to support social causes. Five percent of next weekend’s PiKINic sales will go to the Boise chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, McManus says.

Being socially conscious nowadays means maintaining a strong commitment to slowing spread of the coronavirus — even if it makes launching a new restaurant that much more difficult, he says.

“If we have to be the people who take a stand for being socially responsible, then we’re willing to do that,” McManus says. “I feel like between Kris and myself and our entire team that’s waited so long to do this, we’re not going to preemptively jump on the bandwagon to make small benefit or small revenue. We’re here for the long haul.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 3:05 PM.